


Episode Two

by DragonRose35



Series: Our Life, Our Love [2]
Category: Psych
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Case-Fic(s), Drama, Episode Compliant Case-Fic(s), Episode Related Collection, Ficlet Collection, First Person POV - Original Character, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lassie Has a Dog, Minor Character Death, Original Character(s), Original Non-Human Character(s) - Freeform, Psych Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7690408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonRose35/pseuds/DragonRose35
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s my first official case with Psych and my partner, Carlton, but to tell you the truth- just between us- I’m still not technically official. Which means… don’t tell anyone I’m here!</p><p>-0-</p><p>Semper Fidelis gets settled in his new home, but he's only a puppy and he gets bored too quick to be able to stay cooped up in the house without Carlton. So he decides to escape and accompany Carlton on his first not-official case, ever.</p><p>Unfortunately, things don't go as he plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Episode Two

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Second in Our Life, Our Love, and a continuation of this fun little experiment of mine!
> 
> Hope you enjoy~
> 
> ~ D.C. (Wolf)

It’s been a week since I found my new owner at the Santa Barbara Police Department and all I’ve been able to do was stay cooped up in the house, learning Carlton’s house rules and getting to enjoy high quality meat and milk, surprisingly nice but short walks around the neighborhood- which were always cut short by a call in from his workplace for a case- and extremely nice naps with Carlton- when he _was_ home- curled in his lap on the couch when he’s watching a show or in his bed when it’s night and he’s home for the day.

It was way better than my life as a stray and I couldn’t imagine anything better than this. But I had to admit- I was _bored_.

So when- one morning- Lassiter had to go to work early, I wasn’t going to take another sixteen hours at home, alone. So my big idea?

To break out!

It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, and it was around lunch time- okay, _after_ lunch time, since I decided I needed something to eat before going out to find my master at work- when I finally managed to find an out of the house and onto the streets.

I arrived at the station an hour later, due to my tiny legs and a small minor mishap I had with an old enemy of mine- the Santa Barbara Dog Catcher. I still don’t have a collar yet, but Carlton said he’d get me one soon, if he could remember to find time to buy one. It was right when I saw and heard several police cars pull out of the station and I perked up when I saw my owner, Carlton, walk over to his own car and I jumped at the chance- quite literally- to get in with him to go where he was going.

Using my select stealthiness- which I _really_ needed to work on- I scrambled after him and jumped in after his feet, barely managing to avoid my tail getting squashed by the door closing behind both of us.

Ducking under his feet and jumping over to the other floorboard, I turned and peeked up at him, my tail wagging when I finally registered his scent. It was all over the car and that pleased me, letting me know exactly what I needed about the vehicle. It was Carlton’s, just like I was. And it was very well kept, which told me he’d do the same thing with me- it was priceless. And so was I.

It only took a minute, when he started the car and jerked it into motion, to follow the others, for him to spot me. Only because I yelped, but by that point, he was already speeding towards the location of- wherever we were going- so he only spared me a yell and a glare, his knuckles tightening on the wheel.

I barked at him in greeting and jumped onto the seat, giving him enough time to mutter some things under his breath that even I could hear before he suddenly jerked over and pulled the seatbelt over my small body, locking me in.

Confused, I only looked over at him, tilting my head to help me understand his motive, but upon seeing him with his own seatbelt across his own chest, locking him into the seat, I relaxed and barked again.

Pleased that he wasn’t kicking me out, I settled back for the ride.

-0-

When Carlton pulled to a stop, he got out and helped me out, unbuckling the seatbelt and letting me jump out after him. I made sure to stick close and ducked away when someone came close to seeing me there. I knew I wasn’t welcome- if Carlton’s reaction was anything to go by. But, I was already here, so I may as well stick around to see if I could help out.

The theater smelled like lotion and paper and something else really gross that had me wrinkling my nose- it was coming from the balcony, but I wasn’t sure I was allowed anywhere besides Carlton’s side, so I stayed put.

The Chief was there and so was a new person- a small woman that had blonde hair and smelled like strawberries- that was walking towards Carlton, and who luckily, hadn’t spotted me yet. But I was under one of the seats anyway, so maybe that wasn’t so surprising.

“When do we decide if we should cancel this event?” she asked and Lassiter frowned at her.

“Why would we cancel?” he asked in return.

“Well,” she started, looking towards the balcony and then towards where the coroners were leading a black bag out of the building, “a body _did_ just tumble into the crowd.”

Lassiter snorted and then shrugged, holding up the thing of delicious smelling popcorn in his hands, digging into it and accidently knocking a few pieces onto the ground before eating what he’d dug out. I barely noticed the grimace on his face when he looked down at the ground and I barely kept the delighted whine from leaving my lips when I noticed the woman- Juliet- looking down as well, just as Lassiter kicked the pieces of popcorn more towards the seat I was hiding under.

“ _Carlton_ -” she hit his arm, glaring at him, and when her attention was directed off of me, I snuck out and gnabbed the popcorn, munching eagerly, but quietly on them.

“What? The cleaning guys can get them later,” Lassiter said, before clearing his throat and he quickly changed the subject, efficiently getting her attention off of the popcorn and in turn, off of me. “Besides, the body didn’t land on anyone.”

She huffed and rolled her eyes, brushing her hands down her jacket, deciding to go with the conversation change, regardless, “It might be traumatic.”

“For who? The mayor, when he realizes all the hotel rooms are now empty?” Unfortunately, I had no idea what they were talking about, but at that moment, I was trying to clean butter off of my face, so what they were saying didn’t matter to me.

“We could postpone at least a day. I’m sure that’s allowed.”

Lassiter turned to her with a narrowed look, lowering the popcorn only a little, “Do you have any idea how important this event is to the city?” he asked her before continuing sharply enough that I barely kept in the urge to whine, “No. Unhealthy guy has heart attack, falls over railing. Case closed. I'm certainly not declaring it a crime scene. Come on. You can introduce me to the press.” he added, sparing one last look for me, telling me to stay hidden and stay safe, before turning and walking away.

Juliet sighed and shook her head, “Okay,” she said and leaned down, “Just be sensitive.” she added, frowning then in confusion when she noticed how _clean_ the floor actually was. Derived of popcorn or anything food related. Crawling back further under the seat, I waited with my breath held and my heart rate skyrocketing- I didn’t want to get caught now, because that would mean I would already be disappointing my master and owner. And I wanted his approval more than anything now since he was my ticket to getting on the force. “Huh… weird.” she murmured before standing up and following Lassiter.

“How about if we don’t sell the seat the guy landed on?” Carlton spoke up, his voice still loud and clear, but all I heard afterwards was the clear relief I felt as my heart beat finally slowed down and I made plans to get closer to Lassiter without being spotted and stay by him the entire case.

-0-

Lassiter took me home after Shawn showed up and claimed that the man that fell from the balcony was murdered. Maybe that was the foul smell I caught scent of the first time I walked into the building? But I didn’t know for sure, and right now, I had other things on my mind.

“Semper, sheesh. How did you even get out of the house?” Carlton asked, digging out his keys, with my in his other arm, and he finally got the door open before going inside, setting me down, and closing the door behind him. That was when he spotted the open window and the broken plant pot- oops? “God damn-” he started to curse but cut himself off with a sharp sigh as he went to grab a trash bag and he began picking things up. “Semper Fidelis, you should know better than to go around breaking things to escape. You’re just like Shawn, I swear,” he said and I perked up at the mention of the psychic- I still didn’t know what that meant, but I had decided later that it was just a title and it didn’t matter.

I heard the affection in his voice though and that was weird, especially since he was yelling at Shawn earlier. Barking in answer to him, I then whined and bounced around, getting his attention.

“What?” he frowned at me and sighed again. “Okay, okay, look. I can’t keep a dog if I can’t trust that you’re going to stay inside the house, rather than breaking out or sneaking into a detective’s car heading towards a crime scene.” Whining again, I growled a little, jerking back. I didn’t want to him to give me away. I _liked_ him, but I also _really_ wanted to be a police dog!

But how could I possibly convince him of that? So he could understand me?

Dogs and humans can’t speak to each other, but maybe I could show him a picture?

Looking around, I bounced over towards a calendar that I saw on Lassiter’s wall, next to the kitchen doorway, and I jumped up, barking at the picture that showed a K-9 police dog and his partner, standing side by side, smiling at the camera.

“Semper, get back- oh, I see.” Lassiter walked over to where I was pawing at the wall under the calendar and he knelt down beside me. “You want to be a police dog? Is that why you took so well to the name I gave you?” I barked again at this, in affirmation, and he chuckled, reaching out to pet my head, scratching behind my ears in affection. “Being a K-9 isn’t just for any old dog, you know? Are you sure you’re up for the job?” he asked, clearly teasing, and I huffed at him before barking again at him.

He’s kidding right? No, of course he is, but unfortunately, just showing him that I wanted to be a police dog wasn’t enough. Even I knew that.

“Sorry Semper…” Lassiter sighed and looked up from me, towards the picture, “but you’re too young to be on the force. Maybe someday though, someday you can be my partner, but until then,” he moved his hand to grip my chin and continued in a stern voice, “you’ve got to stay out of trouble. That means doing as I tell you, including staying home until you are old enough to work with me. Got it?”

Barking, I jumped up, enthusiastically, licking at his hand and his face.

-0-

Even though I couldn’t really promise him to listen completely to everything he says, I could at least make an effort to be a good dog and ‘stay’. But what made me really stay was the promise that he’d be home the second he could. That he wouldn’t stay late anymore, unless absolutely necessary.

When he finally did get home, I greeted him excitedly, jumping at his pant legs, mostly because I wanted the special meat snack he always gives me when he gets home.

He grinned down at me, shrugging off his jacket, putting away his gun and badge and keys, and toeing off his shoes, before finally reaching down and petting me. When he made his way to the kitchen, I followed eagerly, and accepted the snack when he handed it to me.

“Come on boy, let’s get you cleaned up, and how about afterwards, we settle for a movie and then for bed?” Carlton asked and I growled happily in answer, my tail wagging at a speed that I wasn’t even aware I was capable of.

-0-

The next morning, I was up before Carlton, watching the reruns of NCIS, the show that he and I were watching last night. He’d left the tv on for me since he knew that I enjoyed watching it when I woke up late at night and after he left for work, during the day.

When Carlton woke up, I barked in greeting and waited happily by the door for our early morning walk. “Oh, Semper, I’m sorry boy, but I’ve got to head in early today. Chief’s orders. I’ll walk you tonight, okay? As long as you want, I promise.” he said and I whined, but accepted the small pat to the head before watching him go out the door.

Deciding that hearing the episodes was enough for me, I settled down by the door, curled up and beyond disappointed. Wishing, not for the first time, that I could leave the house with Lassiter, for once, to go to work with him.

-0-

It surprised me when I woke up late at night, having slept through most of the day- except for potty breaks that I couldn’t ignore and a lunch that more than made up for missing breakfast- by the door, waiting for Carlton to get back home, by exactly that. The doorknob jiggled and turned and I perked my head up when I saw the door open and familiar shoes stepped into view.

Barking excitedly, I only calmed down when I heard the heavy sigh my owner released when he got inside, hanging up his jacket, putting away everything and toeing off his shoes.

Something was wrong.

Whining softly, I followed him to where he went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and a bottle of amber liquid, before pouring some into it and drinking it. Then he went to the living room and sat heavily on the couch, where I waited by his feet, though somewhat impatient, shifting on my paws.

Whining again, I gained his attention and he sat his glass onto the coffee table before patting his leg, allowing me to jump up onto the couch and up into his lap.

“I don’t know how he does it.” Carlton started, reaching his hand out to pet my thick fur. “I know he’s a fake. I’m the _only_ one that knows it, but no one seems to see what I do. And I can’t understand how he does it.” He reached out for his glass again and downed the entire contents in less than two seconds. “He’s not psychic… not really, and yet… twice now, he’s managed to solve the case, apprehend the murderer, and completely humiliate me.”

Whimpering, I nudged his hand and my tail only started wagging when he started scratching at my ears.

“He’s… an enigma. But one… I look forward to solving, one day.”

Barking at him in agreement, it didn’t matter that I didn’t know who he was talking about- Shawn, probably, but maybe not- I laid down beside him and enjoyed his company and his touch, as we settled in to watch some new episodes of a show called The Mentalist.

“I’m glad I have you, though, Semper Fidelis,” Carlton added and I grinned in return, nuzzling against his hand before finally looking back at the screen. Content and in love.

I could definitely get used to living like this.

But one thing was still on my mind, nonetheless- when am I getting a collar?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N 2: To Be Continued...!
> 
> ~ D.C. (Wolf)


End file.
